Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs

ABSTRACT

A hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs is disclosed. In order to operate within the limited space available on a hand-held electronic device, the present invention optimizes the placement and shape of the keys, preferably using keys that are oval or oblong in shape, and that are placed at angles designed to facilitate thumb-typing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/900,585, filed on Jul. 6, 2001 U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,588, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/106,585 U.S. Pat.No. 6,278,442, filed on Jun. 29, 1998, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/089,942 U.S. Pat. No. D,416,256,entitled Hand-held Messaging Device with Keyboard, filed on Jun. 26,1998 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward the field of small, hand-heldelectronic devices such as personal data assistants (PDA's), personalinformation managers (PIM's), two-way pagers and the like. Inparticular, the system and method of the present invention provide theuser of the hand-held device with the ability to input data with aminimal amount of key strokes and optimized for use substantially withthe thumbs.

In a two-way paging system that provides two-way, full text messaging,there is a need to permit the user to initiate messages and to respondto messages in a timely fashion and with text entirely created by theuser. In order to keep the form factor of the two-way pager small enoughto be worn on the body of the user, such as with a belt clip, the inputdevice needs to be small, have a minimal number of keys and optimizedfor use with a minimal number of key strokes. Prior art systems haveattempted to address these needs by incorporating virtual keyboards orpen-based input systems for user inputs to the device, but such systemsrequire the user to input data in an unfamiliar manner. Additionally, ina small hand-held messaging device, such as a two-way pager thesesystems prove awkward to use.

In order to provide a hand-held electronic device that permits a userthe opportunity to enter data into an address book, a calendar, a tasklist, an email message or a similar text file that requiresuser-generated data, the instant invention is directed to an inputdevice that is oriented to be used substantially through use of thethumbs. This is accomplished first by providing a keyboard with aminimal number of keys, but with the keys representing the alphabetgenerally placed in the same order as they would appear on a standardkeyboard, such as in a standard QWERTY or a DVORAK keyboard layout. Theuse of a keyboard layout that is familiar to the user enables the userto immediately use the device without having to hunt for the keys he orshe wishes to use.

Although the layout is similar to a standard keyboard, the keys areplaced at an orientation and in a particular shape that attempts tomaximize the surface area of the thumb hitting the key and to providethe user with a comfortable position of the hands for data input. Also,the orientation encourages input by the thumbs, which the inventors ofthe instant invention have discovered to be faster and more accurate insmall hand-held electronic devices than touch-typing or “hunting andpecking” typing.

An additional feature of the invention is thus use of an additionalinput means for control of functions that might otherwise be controlledby a keyboard that included function keys. To encourage data entry usingthumbs and again to minimize the number of keys on the keyboard, theinstant invention also includes a thumb-wheel for control of menus forsection of forms and functions relevant to data input. The thumb-wheelis positioned in close proximity to the keyboard to enable the easilytransition from thumb-based typing to thumb control of forms andfunctions.

In addition to hardware features that encourage optimal data entrythrough the use of thumbs, there are several software features that aredesigned to minimize keystrokes and aid in entry of data.

The features of this invention, both individually and collectively, havenot, to the knowledge of the inventors, been applied to a smallhand-held electronic device that requires user-generated data entry. Topermit efficient operation of such devices while keeping the form factorof the device small enough to be worn on the body, there is a generalneed for a hand-held electronic device that can fit in the palm of thehand and that can be operated substantially with the thumbs.

There is a further need for a keyboard for a palm-size data entry devicewith keys placed at an angle to optimize operation of the keyboard bythe use of the thumbs.

There remains another need for a keyboard with keys that are shaped andsized to maximize contact with the thumbs while minimizing the keyboardarea required for such keys.

There also remains a need for an auxiliary input device that is to beoperated by the thumb for data inputs forms and function control andthat, in conjunction with the keyboard, encourages and permits dataentry and management through input performed substantially by thethumbs.

There remains still another need for a software-implemented userinterface system that is designed, at least in part, to support andencourage data entry through use of the thumbs.

SUMMARY

The present invention overcomes the problems noted above and satisfiesthe needs in this field for a hand-held electronic device with akeyboard optimized for use with the thumbs. In the preferred embodimentof the present invention, the hand-held electronic device is a two-waypaging device that permits full-text, two-way messaging such as emailmessaging and that includes standard PDA or PIM features such as anaddress book, an electronic calendar, a task list and other text-basedfeatures. These features require user input of text strings that can belengthy and that cannot be reduced to pre-determined or “canned”strings. Thus, for such a device, the efficient entry of data in adevice meant to fit into the palm of one's hand requires that two goalsare achieved. First, the data entry must be relatively easy from a userperspective. This means that the user must be somewhat familiar withanalogous forms of data entry and not have to be trained to use the dataentry for the hand-held device. Second, the form factor does not permita large number of keys or keys that are very large. Thus efficient useof the keyboard space is required and functions that might be able to beperformed by a standard keyboard are off-loaded to an auxiliary inputdevice or are performed, through a minimal number of keystrokes thatencourage the use of thumb-based data entry.

To accomplish these goals the invention first optimizes the placement ofthe keys on the device keyboard. In order to work within the limitedspace available for the keyboard, it was determined that it waspreferable to use keys that were oval or oblong and that were placed atangles designed to facilitate use by thumb typing. An angle for the keyson the right side of the keyboard and a complementary angle for the keyson the left side of the keyboard are chosen based upon observation ofthe angle at which a user will orient his or her thumbs whilethumb-typing.

The invention also minimizes the number of keys available for datainput. In the preferred embodiment, only keys for the 26 letters of theEnglish alphabet are available as well as a backspace key, a line feedkey, an “alt” key, a “cap” key and a space bar. The alt key enables theuser in conjunction the other keys to input numbers and symbols toperform certain functions. The placement of the keys is designed toenhance the user experience while typing with the thumbs by meeting twoseemingly opposite goals—minimizing the keyboard footprint whilemaximizing the likelihood that proper keys will be struck by thethumb-typing user.

The invention also provides additional incentive for the user to usethumb input by providing an input device adjacent to the keyboard, butintegral to the overall hand-held device. Although other devices can beused in an auxiliary fashion, the preferred device is a thumbwheel thatregisters movement of the wheel by measuring the number of indentstraversed while rolling the wheel and that also registers as an inputthe depression or “clicking” of the wheel, which is performed bypressing the wheel toward the back of the pager. This clicking of thewheel is similar to the clicking of a mouse associated with a PC or anyother input device that registers the depression of a button. Thethumb-wheel in the preferred embodiment is placed vertically on thetwo-way paging device so that the user can easily move his or her thumbfrom the thumbwheel to the keyboard and back for performing functionsand retrieving data forms, such as an e-mail template or address bookentry template for data entry.

Additionally, various software techniques can be implemented to enhancethe thumbtyping use's experience in using the device of the instantinvention. In the preferred embodiment, for example, the user can changethe capitalization of a particular letter simply by keeping a keydepressed for a particular length of time without an intermittentrelease being detected by the keyboard controller.

The primary advantage of the present invention is that it enablesefficient and user-friendly data entry into a palm-sized electronicdevice by maximizing the potential for user data entry through thumbtyping.

These are just a few of the many advantages of the present invention, asdescribed in more detail below. As will be appreciated, the invention iscapable of other and different embodiments and its several details arecapable of modifications in various respects, all without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptionof the preferred embodiment set forth below are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention satisfies the needs noted above as will becomeapparent from the following description when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a two-way, full-text, messaging deviceincorporating a keyboard and an auxiliary data entry device.

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the hand-held device showing the shape andplacement of the keys on the keyboard and the auxiliary input device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of showing the shape size and placement of the keyson the keyboard.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the control circuitry for the thumbwheel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the majorsubsystems and elements comprising a palm-sized, mobile, two-waymessaging device that preferably incorporates the invention. In itsbroadest terms, the messaging device includes a transmitter/receiversubsystem 100 connected to a DSP 200 for digital signal processing ofthe incoming and outgoing data transmissions, power supply andmanagement subsystem 300, which supplies and manages power to theoverall messaging device components, microprocessor 400, which ispreferably an X86 architecture processor, that controls the operation ofthe messaging device, display 500, which is preferably a full graphicLCD, FLASH memory 600, RAM 700, serial output and port 800, keyboard 900, thumbwheel 1000 and thumbwheel control logic 1010. In its intendeduse, a message comes via a wireless data network, such as the Mobitexnetwork, into subsystem 100, where it is demodulated via DSP 200 anddecoded and presented to microprocessor 300 for display on display 500.To access the display of the message, the user may choose from functionslisted under a menu presented as a result of user interaction withthumbwheel 1000. If the message is an email message, the user may choseto respond to the email by selecting “Reply” from a menu presented onthe display through interaction via thumbwheel 1000 or via menuselection from keyboard 900. In typing the reply, the user can usekeyboard 900 to type full text message replies, or insert pre-determinedor “canned” response by using either a particular keystroke pattern orthrough pulling down pre-determined text strings from a menu of itemspresented on display 500 through the use of thumbwheel 1000. When thereply to the message is composed the user can initiate the sending ofthe message preferably by interaction through thumbwheel 1000, oralternatively, with less efficiency, through a combination of keyboard900 keystrokes. When the microprocessor 300 receives an indication thatthe message is to be sent, it processes the message for transport and,by directing and communicating with transmitter/receiver subsystem 100,enables the reply message to be sent via the wireless communicationsdata network to the intended recipient. Similar interaction through I/Odevices keyboard 900 and thumbwheel 1000 can be used to initiatefull-text messages or to forward messages to another party. Also, thekeyboard 900 and thumbwheel 1000 can be used to permit data entry to anaddress book resident on the messaging device, or an electronic calendaror log book, or any other function on the messaging device requiringdata entry. Preferably, the thumbwheel is a thumbwheel with a pushbutton SPST with quadrature signal outputs, such as that manufactured byMatsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd. as part number EVQWK2001.

FIG. 2 is a front view of messaging device 10 that incorporates theinvention. Shown in FIG. 2 are a plurality of letter keys 901, andspecialized keys 902, 903, 904 and 905 and space bar 906. Also shown isthumbwheel 1000 in its vertical orientation and in association withdisplay 500 and keyboard 900. In the preferred embodiment, 902 is thealt key, 903 is the cap key. 904 is the line feed key and 905 is thebackspace key.

FIG. 3 is a view of a subset of the letter keys 901, showing thedimensions and relative position of the keys. Shown also is the point950 that marks the center of keyboard 900, key dimensions 970, 971, 972and 973, as well as angle 960 and the rho value 965, representingcurvature of a letter key 901. In investigating optimal key placement onthe keyboard, it was determined that the keys should be placed at anangle 960 relative to vertical that facilitated easy typing usingthumbs. That angle is preferably positive 40 degrees relative tovertical for keys on the right side of the keyboard (where 950 is thecenter of the keyboard) and negative 40 degrees for the keys on the leftside of the keyboard, although complementary angles ranging from 20degrees to 70 degrees could also be used to accomplish the goal, albeitless optimally, of facilitating thumb typing. Also as shown on FIGS. 2and 3, the keys are dispersed across keyboard 900 evenly so that thereis sufficient space between the keys to decrease the opportunity formultiple keys being depressed while thumb typing. Additionally, the keysare sized appropriate given the footprint of the messaging device andthe keyboard 900. In its preferred embodiment, the messaging device 10measures across its face 64 mm by 89 mm, which does not leave much roomfor keyboard 900 and display 500. In the preferred embodiment, keyboard900 occupies over half of the face of the messaging device 10.

The key shape and dimensions are also key components of the invention.In order to maximize the surface area of the key that a thumb would hit,the keys are preferably oval, and have a rho 965 defining the curvatureof the key of 0.4 14, although values may range higher or lower. Otherrho values will lead to an acceptable, but not as optimal oraesthetically pleasing shape of keys 901. As to the key dimensions, thewidth 970 of the key 901 is 4.8 millimeters (971 representing the radiusof half that value, 2.4 mm) and the length (or height) 972 of the key901 is 7 millimeters millimeters (973 representing the radius of halfthat value, 3.5 mm).

Turning to one of the software features that aids in the device 10 beingoptimally used for thumb typing is a capitalization feature implementedvia software. If a user depresses a key 901, the operating systemdetects a key down event. If the key is released after a period of time,the operating system detects a key up event. If upon a key down event, aperiod of time elapses before a key up event is detected, the operatingsystem determines that a key repeat event has occurred representing asituation where a user has continued to depress a key without releasingit. A key repeat event is then treated by application software residingin either FLASH 600 or RAM 700 as an event that requires thecapitalization of the key previously depressed. This feature disables akey repeat feature and substitutes instead a capitalization featurebased upon a key repeat. The timing of the key scanning to determinewhether a key has been released can be set to permit a slower keyboardresponse or a faster keyboard response, depending upon user experienceor preferences. Although the capitalization function preferably worksonly to change the state of a letter to a capital, it alternativelycould operate to change a capital letter to a lower case letter. Theactual display is changed by the application program substituting thevalue of the capital letter in the register that holds the value of theletter to be displayed. As alternatively implemented, the continueddepressing without release of a letter key could result in a keyoscillating between upper case and lower case, depending on the lengthof time the key is depressed.

FIG. 4 is the logic circuitry 1010 associated with thumbwheel 1000.Thumbwheel 1000 outputs quadrature signals phase A 1021 and phase B1022, which are processed by D flip-flops 1031 and 1032 to presentsignals 1041 W_UP and 1042 W_DN to microprocessor 300. Signals 1041 and1042 represent, respectively, a user rolling the thumbwheel up androlling the thumbwheel down.

Having described in detail the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, including the preferred methods of operation, it is to beunderstood that this operation could be carried out with differentelements and steps. This preferred embodiment is presented only by wayof example and is not meant to limit the scope of the present inventionwhich is defined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A hand-held messaging device, comprising: a keyboard that is horizontally positioned symmetrically between a left edge and a right edge of a face of the hand-held messaging device and having a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of rows across the face, wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave pattern; a display that is vertically positioned between the keyboard and a top edge of the face and horizontally positioned symmetrically between the left edge and the right edge of the face; an auxiliary input device; and a processor coupled to the keyboard, the auxiliary input device and the display that controls the operation of the hand-held messaging device.
 2. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave-down pattern.
 3. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein each row of keys is arranged along an arc.
 4. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of keys of the keyboard is oblong.
 5. The hand-held messaging device of claim 4, wherein the oblong key is tilted at an angle from a vertical axis extending through a center of the key.
 6. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys of the keyboard are oblong.
 7. The hand-held messaging device of claim 6, wherein a first portion of the oblong keys are tilted at a negative angle from vertical and a second portion of the oblong keys are tilted at a positive angle from vertical.
 8. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of keys of the keyboard is oval.
 9. The hand-held messaging device of claim 8, wherein the oval key is tilted at an angle from a vertical axis extending through a center of the key.
 10. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys each have a shape that is contoured for optimal typing with a user's thumbs.
 11. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein each key of the keyboard is aligned along a vertical axis with a key from an adjacent row.
 12. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein the keyboard includes three (3) rows of keys, wherein each of the three rows of keys includes a first set of keys that are arranged in a pattern having a positive slope from vertical and a second set of keys that are arranged in a pattern having a negative slope from vertical.
 13. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein the keyboard includes twenty-six (26) letter keys.
 14. The hand-held messaging device of claim 13, wherein the twenty-six (26) letter keys are arranged in the format of a QWERTY-style keyboard.
 15. The hand-held messaging device of claim 14, further comprising: a row of functional keys that are horizontally positioned symmetrically or substantially symmetrically between a left edge and a right edge of the face of the hand-held messaging device and vertically positioned between the keyboard and a bottom edge of the hand-held messaging device.
 16. The hand-held messaging device of claim 15, wherein the row of functional keys includes a space bar.
 17. The hand-held messaging device of claim 15, wherein the row of functional keys includes an alt key, and wherein at least one letter key has an associated alternate character that may be input to the processor by simultaneously depressing the letter key and the alt key.
 18. The hand-held messaging device of claim 15, wherein the row of functional keys includes a shift key.
 19. The hand-held messaging device of claim 15, wherein the row of functional keys includes a menu key.
 20. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, further comprising: at least one additional functional key positioned above the keyboard.
 21. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a backspace key.
 22. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a home key.
 23. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is an escape key.
 24. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a menu key.
 25. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a delete key.
 26. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a cursor-left key.
 27. The hand-held messaging device of claim 20, wherein the additional functional key is a cursor-right key.
 28. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary input device is a thumb-wheel.
 29. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, further comprising: a wireless radio subsystem coupled to the processor that transmits and receives electronic messages from a wireless network; and a memory device coupled to the processor that stores electronic messages received from the wireless network.
 30. The hand-held messaging device of claim 29, further comprising: application software executing on the processor, wherein the application software includes an electronic messaging application that receives electronic messages that are wirelessly redirected to the hand-held messaging device from a redirection software application executing on a corporate server.
 31. The hand-held messaging device of claim 30, wherein the application software includes a calendar application.
 32. The hand-held messaging device of claim 1, further comprising: a rechargeable battery coupled to the processor that supplies power to the hand-held messaging device.
 33. A hand-held messaging device, comprising: a device housing having a face, a bottom surface, and a plurality of connecting surfaces for connecting the face to the bottom surface; a display mounted within the face of the device housing and horizontally positioned symmetrically between a left edge of the face and a right edge of the face; a keyboard mounted within the face of the device housing in a position between the display and a bottom edge of the face, wherein the keyboard comprises a QWERTY-style keyboard having a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of rows across the face; wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave pattern and is distributed symmetrically across the face of the housing, wherein the keyboard includes a plurality of letter keys and at least one specialized key; an auxiliary input device mounted within the housing; and a processor coupled to the keyboard, the auxiliary input device and the display that controls the operation of the hand-held messaging device.
 34. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave-down pattern.
 35. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein each row of keys is arranged along an arc.
 36. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the plurality of keys are oblong.
 37. The hand-held messaging device of claim 36, wherein the oblong shaped keys are tilted with respect to a vertical reference through the face of the device housing.
 38. The hand-held messaging device of claim 36, wherein the oblong shaped keys are oval shaped.
 39. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the specialized key is a line feed key.
 40. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the specialized key is a backspace key.
 41. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the keyboard further comprises a row of functional keys.
 42. The hand-held messaging device of claim 41, wherein the row of functional keys includes at least a space bar key, an alt key, and a shift key.
 43. The hand-held messaging device of claim 41, wherein the row of functional keys includes at least a space bar key, a shift key, and a menu key.
 44. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the hand-held device is a two-way pager, a personal digital assistant or an electronic organizer.
 45. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the auxiliary input device is mounted within one of the connecting surfaces.
 46. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the auxiliary input device is a thumbwheel.
 47. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, wherein the auxiliary input device includes a directional input component for navigating a plurality of menu items presented on the display and a selector switch for selecting a menu item from the plurality of menu items.
 48. The hand-held messaging device of claim 33, further comprising: a transceiver for transmitting and receiving messages.
 49. The hand-held messaging device of claim 48, further comprising: a first antenna for receiving messages; and a second antenna for transmitting messages.
 50. The hand-held messaging device of claim 49, wherein the transceiver further comprises: a receiver, coupled to the first antenna, for demodulating the received messages; and a transmitter, coupled to the second antenna, for generating a modulated message.
 51. The hand-held messaging device of claim 50, wherein the transceiver further comprises: a digital signal processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver for processing demodulated messages from the receiver, and for providing modulation information to the transmitter.
 52. A wireless e-mail device, comprising: a device housing having a face and a left and right side surface coupled to the face; a display mounted within the face; a transceiver for receiving e-mail messages from a wireless network and for transmitting e-mail messages generated on the wireless e-mail device to the wireless network; a keyboard that is horizontally positioned symmetrically between the left side surface and the right side surface and having a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of rows across the race, wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave pattern; an auxiliary input device mounted within the device housing: and a processor coupled to the keyboard, the auxiliary input device and the display that controls the operation of the wireless e-mail device.
 53. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, wherein the auxiliary input device is a thumbwheel.
 54. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, wherein the auxiliary input device includes a directional input component for navigating a plurality of menu items presented on the display and a selector switch for selecting a menu item form the plurality of menu items.
 55. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, further comprising an antenna coupled to the transceiver.
 56. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, further comprising: a memory for storing an operating system and a plurality of application programs that are executed by the processor to control the operation of the wireless e-mail device.
 57. The wireless e-mail device of claim 56, wherein the operating system assigns a plurality of characters to at least one of the plurality of keys, and wherein the wireless e-mail device includes an auxiliary input device that is used to select one of the plurality of characters by holding down the at least one key and selecting the one of the plurality of characters using the auxiliary input device.
 58. The wireless e-mail device of claim 56, wherein the memory stores a database associating a plurality of first character phrases with a plurality of second character phrases, and wherein the operating system detects one of the plurality of first character phrases input by a user of the wireless e-mail device using the keyboard and substitutes the associated second character phase on the display.
 59. The wireless e-mail device of claim 56, wherein the memory is a flash memory.
 60. The wireless e-mail device of claim 56, further comprising a digital signal processor coupled between the processor and the transceiver.
 61. The wireless e-mail device of claim 56, wherein the plurality of application programs include a messaging application for generating e-mail messages and a calendar application.
 62. The wireless e-mail device of claim 61, wherein the plurality of application programs further include an address book application.
 63. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, further comprising a serial port for coupling the wireless e-mail device to a host computer.
 64. The wireless e-mail device of claim 52, further comprising a power supply system including a rechargeable battery and an external charger input for receiving a source of electrical charge to recharge the rechargeable battery.
 65. The wireless e-mail device of claim 64, wherein the rechargeable battery is a lithium battery.
 66. The wireless e-mail device of claim 64, wherein the power supply subsystem further includes a voltage regulator coupled to the rechargeable battery for generating a regulated supply voltage for powering the device.
 67. The wireless e-mail device of claim 64, wherein the power supply subsystem further includes connections to a microprocessor for monitoring the operation of the power supply subsystem.
 68. A hand-held messaging device, comprising: a device housing having a face; a display mounted within the face; a keyboard mounted within the face of the device housing in a position between the display and a bottom edge of the face, wherein the keyboard comprises a QWERTY-style keyboard having a plurality of keys arranged in a plurality of rows across the face, wherein each row of keys is arranged in a concave pattern and is distributed symmetrically across the face of the housings wherein the keyboard includes a plurality of letter keys and at least one specialized key; an auxiliary input device mounted within the device housing; means for receiving e-mail messages from a wireless network and for transmitting e-mail messages generated on the hand-held messaging device to the wireless network. 